Metro work along Bengaluru's outer ring road a nightmare for IT Firms

Life for employees in the technology companies located on the Outer Ring Road (ORR) between the Silk Board junction and Krishnaraja Puram, who on an average lose about 90 minutes a day in traffic snarls, is about to become more difficult.Umesh Yadav | ET Bureau | Updated: December 28, 2016, 10:59 IST

Life for employees in the technology companies located on the Outer Ring Road (ORR) between the Silk Board junction and Krishnaraja Puram, who on an average lose about 90 minutes a day in traffic snarls, is about to become more difficult.

Reason: Construction of the 17km Metro line on this stretch is beginning next month and could take over four years to complete.

There are close to 4.5 lakh cars using the ORR every day . This means on an average, 18,750 cars are present on the stretch every hour.During peak hours, this number is almost 2-3 times the average.

According to urban planning guidelines, the minimum travel speed for a major city road should be 25 km/hour. The average travel speed on a major section of the ORR, however, is less than 10 km/hour.

With the Metro construction coming up along the median of the Outer Ring Road, one can only imagine the number of hurdles it will add to the already-woebegone users of this crucial road.

Outer Ring Road Companies Association president Captain GA Poornaprajna said that the companies located on the stretch are bracing for more disruptions. For one, they are offering employees work from-home options. They are also encouraging their employees to car-pool.

Amith Kumar, a techie working in the Electronics City , said: “I pity the people who live people who live and work on ORR.Construction of under-bridges, over-bridges and flyovers have been never-ending since 2011. The dust, air pollution and traffic made me quit my previ ous job. Now, the metro work will make it worse."

Amit hopes that the police will monitor traffic better, and that the Metro contractors occupy minimum space on the road and ensure dust is controlled.. Additional Commissioner of Traffic R Hithendra said the city traffic police are on the lookout for alternative roads until the work is done. Urban commute expert Sanjeev Dyamannavar suggests that the railways will be a big help during the period of disruption.

“Around a thousand techies working on the ORR use the Yesh wantapur-Hosur train. If the Railways introduces three trains in the morning and three in the evening -till the Metro is completed -it will take many vehicles off the road," he said.